


erase (then replace)

by maridoll



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maridoll/pseuds/maridoll
Summary: a chronology of idol kozuki hiyori's career seen through the perspective of two starry-eyed girls.
Relationships: Koala/Vinsmoke Reiju
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	erase (then replace)

**Author's Note:**

> ive been sitting on this one for _so long_ i wrote it for a zine last year and i can finally post it so here take it.
> 
> quick story time i was in multiple zines when i wrote this and i confused the rules for another zine when i wrote this. i cut enough for word limits and edited that to then follow all the rules, once i realized, but i am so in love w the original that thats what im posting. if youre coming from the zine i promise its not all that different, besides the length i jus had to make the subtle koa/rei non-existent. tbh if there wasnt a tag and you didnt read to the very end, you prolly wouldnt notice it wehgoewhg so dont expect anything over the top.

**[ 12:36 ]** then, who was your favorite?

 **[ 12:37 ]** Kozuki hiyori

-

Koala slams her hand down on the park table, grin pulling wider, and watches as Reiju jumps in her seat across from her. She slams her other hand down too -except, this one is holding the magazine, and in trepidation Reiju’s eyes widen.

“Show me,” she says immediately, and Koala climbs up onto the decaying wood top to flip through the pages with ease. She stops halfway through, on a spread featuring a girl with teal hair and bright eyes, and Reiju hums as she scoots closer to get a better look. “That’s her?”

“That’s her,” Koala verifies. “Kozuki-kun.”

“So she’s one of the new models,” Reiju hums. She’s careful as she flips through more pages, trying to catch glimpses of the same girl. _JS Girl_ was Koala’s most prized magazine collection, and this was the first edition of the new year. They were rolling out all their new models for this one, and if she was the one to tear a page, Reiju knew she’d receive more than a slap on the wrist from the redhead. 

“There’s another,” Koala says, tapping on a new page. It featured Kozuki in a solo set, wearing bright yellows and reds. Something about that strikes in Reiju, like she was forgetting something. She leans closer, humming again. “What?” Koala asks. 

“I recognize her from somewhere,” Reiju admits.

-

“Koala! I found it!”

A pounding on the door gets Koala’s attention following the words, and she jumps up from her seat at the kitchen table, sliding on the floor in her hurry around the corner. “Coming!” she calls.

More knocking comes. “Hurry up! You’ve gotta-” Reiju breaks off as the door swings open, jumping back, magazine braced before her. Koala snickers into her hand, pulling the door open wider. “-see this,” Reiju finishes, now frowning.

Koala grabs her wrist and pulls her forward. “Come on, let’s go in my room.”

They collapse on the rugged carpet soon after, and Reiju slaps the magazine on the floor. It was an old _Sesame_ copy, from a few years back. Koala hums, reaching forward to leaf through it. “You always have the more high-end stuff,” she sighs.

“Don’t focus on that now,” Reiju snaps, snatching it away. She hurries through until she reaches the middle, then sets it back down. It doesn’t take long for Koala’s expression to grow in surprise, and then it brightens, and she sits up quickly. 

“Oh! That’s her! Kozuki-san!” Koala points right to the center spread, where Kozuki Hiyori stood in a cute raincoat outfit. The picture was amazing, capturing all the details and the scenery in the background. Koala bends forward to get a better look at the bright hair bound in pigtails, hanging out of the coat’s hood. “She looks closer to our age now.”

“I knew I recognized her from somewhere. She was in a bunch of these some time ago. I guess she upgraded to a _JS_ model now.”

Koala picks up the magazine in both hands, holding it up. “She really is pretty! Okay, I’ve decided! I’m gonna follow her from now on.”

Reiju calmly takes the magazine back, snickering. “Oh yeah? Remember how well that went for Boa.”

Koala’s cheeks puff out. “Boa-san was different! This will be better, promise!”

-

There _was_ a flaw in her plan. 

Kozuki Hiyori was five years older than Koala and Reiju. She only stayed in the _JS Girl_ lineup for another 18 months, and then she was gone. And then the pair spent the remainder of the year flipping through their magazines, growing disappointed every time they couldn’t find a shock of teal hair.

-

“She’s in _Nicola_!” Reiju shouts, slamming their classroom door open. Koala jumps in her seat, pencil falling from her grasp to the floor. She’d come in early to finish homework she’d forgotten, so they were the only two in the room. Koala sighs as she bends down to pick up her writing utensil and Reiju marches over.

“Who? Viola? Shyarly-san?”

“No, you idiot!” Reiju snaps. Koala straightens up in her chair in indignation. Before she can snap the pencil in her grip, Reiju bends forward to look at her papers, her brow creased. “Wait. You’re doing this wrong.”

Koala blinks, then turns from the paper to her friend, then back again. “Really?” She drops the pencil in favor of grabbing Reiju’s shoulders. “Waah! Really? Reiju, help me! Please!”

“Okay, okay, give me a second.” Reiju’s brow furrows again as Koala finally stops shaking her. She takes a seat in the chair in front of Koala’s desk and places a magazine on top of the papers. “Look at this first.”

“Right.” Koala hums, homework completely forgotten as she bends forward to get a better look. “Someone’s in Nicola now? You usually don’t have this one.”

“I borrowed it,” Reiju admits. She starts turning pages until near the very end, where a wide group shot is featured. Then she leans back, crossing her arms with a smirk. “Hm! See? She’s there!”

“What am I looking at?” Koala mutters. “So many people . . . Do I have to find them?” She takes her finger and scans the rows, moving past each familiar face. 

“Just trust me,” Reiju insists. “Once you see her, you’ll-” She jumps slightly as a scream interrupts her, and then Koala’s thrusting the magazine into her own face, grin pulling wide.

“It’s Kozuki-san!” she yells. “There, in the corner! I’d recognize that hair anywhere. Wow, Reiju, how did you find this?” She gasps, cutting off her friend’s would-be reply with her next sentence. “Does this mean she’s back? Is she a _Nicola_ model now?”

“I think so!” Reiju replies, forgetting her earlier disdain. “The next issue comes out tomorrow, we should go and buy a copy after school.”

“Absolutely!” Koala cheers, tossing the magazine into the air. It lands with a _slap_ against the desk and she frowns, catching sight of her homework. “But, please help me first.”

-

Kozuki Hiyori was on the front page of the _Nicola_ September spread. Koala and Reiju stood and stared at it so long that they got shooed away by the shopkeeper, until he realized they were there to pay for a copy. 

She was featured in _Nicola_ a lot after her initial debut. It became the girls’ go-to fashion magazine once they entered junior high, and it continued all throughout. Hiyori was by far the company’s best model, and she gained fame pretty easily. Koala remembers Reiju showing her a clip of a drama during lunch one day, and being surprised to see Hiyori was a guest on that specific episode. Once she grew out of preteen fashion, she was featured in other magazines, like _Zipper_ and _Kera_ . It wasn’t until the girls were in high school that things began to change, and while flipping through the latest copy of _ViVi_ , they come across a whole article featuring Hiyori.

“Wow,” Koala breathes, skimming over the text again to make sure she had read right. “ _Kozuki Hiyori to sign runway model contract with Criminal brand._ ”

“Guess her magazine era is over,” Reiju follows. “Their next show is two weeks from now, right?”

Koala finally turns from the spread, smirking. “I already have it set to record on the TV.”

-

Kozuki Hiyori was featured a grand total of five times on the runway. Koala and Reiju screamed and gripped each other each time she appeared. She was easily the best model of the show, to the two of them. 

“ _I’m so lucky to be working with a designer like Pappug_ ,” she tells a reporter after the show, dressed down for a short interview. “ _I think my first show can definitely count as a success. I can’t wait to do more!_ ”

She does more.

Koala and Reiju continue on with high school. Hiyori is spotted at several locations sporting Criminal brand clothing. Images of shoots get leaked online. The girls steal a Criminal lookbook from their older friend Monet while visiting her shop and page through until their eyes land on a teal-haired figure.

“Criminal is so-so,” Monet says to them, one day, as she catches them with her missing catalogue. “I mean, it’s good. But only as good as regular fashion will ever be. It’s too normal to be anything big.”

The girls take in what Monet says and reconsider. They process, and then re-evaluate.

And then decide they don’t care, because their favorite model is in the limelight. So what if it’s not with a top brand? 

A new year comes, they turn sixteen, and Criminal holds another runway show.

But Hiyori isn’t there.

-

No one knows where Kozuki Hiyori has gone.

Apparently, she was never on the lineup for the spring Criminal show. Speculation arises, but everything is baseless when met with no answers, or even _hints_ of what might be. No one from Criminal offers a statement. Hiyori’s agent, Kikunojo, refuses to comment. Theories are thrown out on online boards. Someone finds the guts to question another model, Ace Portgas, because of his agent Izo’s ties to Kikunojo. It comes up empty. Everything comes up empty.

Kozuki Hiyori is gone from public view.

-

Koala and Reiju enter their senior year in high school. Through the sheer panic that is preparing for entrance exams, they barely have time to spend flipping through spare copies of _Larme_. It’s been almost a year since Hiyori disappeared from the fashion world. 

Reiju kicks the leg to Koala’s chair, causing her to draw a hard line straight through her doodle. “Hey!” Koala whines, looking up to a pout. Not thatsthe didn’t deserve it, she should be taking notes, but-

A phone is shoved in her face. Koala blinks, reeling back a little to look at the screen. Her gaze first falls to the Twitter handle, and her mouth opens in surprise. “Charlotte Smoothie? The same director of marketing for-”

“Just look at the picture,” Reiju says, kicking the chair leg again.

So Koala does. And her jaw drops. Reiju grins.

But her grin is nothing compared to the smirk of the model teased in the photo. Even with a heavily made-up face, Koala would recognize that teal hair anywhere. Her eyes rove the image. It was landscape, but it barely showed the model’s shoulders. She was looking somewhere over the camera, eyes lidded, deep red lips pulled so wide they almost show teeth. Her hair was pulled back high and adorned with clips. Something dark was draped over her shoulders, lined with lace and embroidery. Her eyes fall to the text underneath.

_Wa Couture teaser ft. the perfect model to match_

“No way,” she breathes. “She was snatched by Charlotte Linlin? _That_ Charlotte Linlin?”

“Guess that explains where she’s been,” Reiju hums, sliding her phone away. “Out of the spotlight, just to make a grand re-entrance. It’s very like that clan, hm?”

“She looks different,” Koala agrees. “Older, sure, but . . More . . .”

“Provocative?” Reiju suggests.

“Yes!” Koala snaps her fingers. “Yeah. That . . hm. It’s just different. It doesn’t bother me, but-” She frowns. “It just doesn’t feel like Kozuki-san.”

“Maybe she’s changed. One year is a long time to be away.” Reiju takes back out her phone again, thumbs through it. “Anyway, their next show is after we graduate. Wanna go?”

Koala stands up so fast her chair falls to the ground. Her hands lay heavily on her desk as she leans over into her best friend’s space. “Are you,” she utters. “Did you get- Do you have enough mon-”

“Since when has money been an issue?” Reiju’s grin is back. “So? Wanna go?”

“You have tickets?” Koala asks.

Reiju glances down at her phone. “I can.”

“Absolutely,” she responds. “Do it, get them now.”

And so she does.

-

Everyone knows Charlotte models are kept on lockdown.

They sign contracts, and then they’re brand-exclusive. Their personal agents become secondary. The work ethic is rigorous, and time off is rarely granted. It was like idol work, in short, but for clothing models.

The brand even had their own magazine, costly and coveted. Actually, they ended up buying out _Vogue Japan_ to get it. Charlotte was by far the largest and most critically-acclaimed fashion brand in the country. The head designer, Charlotte Linlin, was known for being ruthless and tough to work with. She got things done, and her work reflected that.

Ten days before the Wa Couture show, another teaser is shown online, introducing two new models. One of them is Hiyori, but she has a stage name now -Komurasaki.

“Cool, right?” Reiju says, bent down next to Koala to be heard over the noise of the full subway car. The redhead’s brows are pinched.

“Weird,” she mutters. “You do remember the name, right? We learned it in high school.”

“From history? What does it matter?” Reiju lets one hand hold onto the railing above, dipping closer to look into her friend’s face. “She wasn’t that important, or I _would_ remember.”

“From literature,” Koala corrects. “Komurasaki was a _courtesan_.”

Reiju’s brows dip, and her lips furl. “Oh.”

“Yeah. _Oh_ ,” Koala stresses. “That story wasn’t very pretty, either. What kind of a stage name is that, in this day in age?”

“I get your point,” Reiju sighs. “So she’s crafting a new image. Or, one’s being crafted _for_ her. When did she go out? She was still twenty, right?”

“I guess twenty-two is their prime age. Well, let’s see what they do with it. The show is soon.”

-

The eldest son of Charlotte Linlin, Perospero, is the announcer for the show. He has a face you just can’t trust, but the girls are almost shivering in their seats as the lighting dims, so excited they barely remember to breathe. 

Wa Couture begins with fire, and with snow.

Komurasaki is the first on the runway.

Her walk is slow. She prances out from underneath the curtains. Her smile is devilish, and as she moves down the stage in elaborate wear, she peeks over the edges, looking down on all in attendance.

She’s dressed in red.

Reiju leans forward in her seat. Her shoulders are bare, but they look like they’ve been dusted with something to make them sparkle. The beginnings of a kimono are wrapped just below, falling open again at her waist. A patterned obi ties it closed above that, but where her cleavage should be shown, she could just barely catch sight of at least four layers of satin. The material was clearer on her lower half, where it draped open and revealed a handful of fabric, all in different patterns. She wore tall, clear heels. The fabric spread like she was wearing crinoline, but if she was, it was all in the back, the front dedicated to showing off her slender legs. 

She’s almost to the end of the walk when she pauses, strikes a dramatic pose, and throws her head over her shoulders. Parts of her hair hanging down from the elaborate braid swish over her neck. Her pins and ornaments rattle. Her shadowed eyes blink.

Another model comes out from behind the curtain, dressed in blue. She’s younger, and she comes out a little faster, moving her head left and right, giving off a presence of innocence.

Komurasaki turns back around and finishes her walk. Once she’s at the end, she twirls to face the stage properly, pausing as she finishes. The ends of her layered kimonos [poof] out around her. Her casual glare turns haughty as she stares down the newcomer. She speeds up her walk going back.

Runway shows were performances, nowadays. Reiju knows this. Still, it takes all her self-control not to leap out of her seat when Komurasaki stalks a little too close, becomes a little too threatening, and in response the girl in blue thrusts her hands out, knocks her down to the stage. Her kimonos fan out, revealing her feet, visible through the clear shoes. She thrusts out her hands to steady her fall, but she lands on one knee. There’s a deep _thud._

“Yeesh,” Koala mutters from next to her. “That looked hard. Wouldn’t be surprised if she had bruising.”

Komurasaki crumples, to the gasp of the audience, but it’s all part of the show. The girl in blue lowers herself, curls her arms around her fellow model. The spotlight shifts to blue, becomes colder. The girl’s outfit almost twinkles, illuminated in the light. After a moment, she rises, and marches to the end of the stage, the spotlight all on her. In the shadows, the darkness, Komurasaki rises and retreats. Special effects make flurries follow the girl in blue, cast into view by the spotlight.

And so the snow devours the fire.

The show is magnificent. Komurasaki appears several more times, each outfit more elaborate than the last, all with the base in traditional Japanese attire. It’s not until her last appearance that Reiju catches the dark spot near her left knee. She leans closer to Koala, muttering, “I think you may be right.”

They’re polite as the show finishes. The don’t try and approach any of the models, but as they round a corner and spot Komurasaki giving commentary, they can’t help but pause, listen in.

“Oh, that fall was a little rougher than intended, but it was my fault,” she insists, waving off the reporter. She bends her left leg, still uncovered, with ease. “I didn’t land right, but I’m fine, see? No harm done.”

The following week, Komurasaki is the cover page model for Charlotte’s magazine. Her hands are musing her hair, she’s in another half-clad elaborate outfit, and her gaze is stark, almost menacing.

There’s no interview, despite her being the brand’s new diamond in the rough. Despite Charlotte models being rather closed-off, private to the public, this was unusual. When they got home, Reiju was a little surprised to discover Komurasaki hadn’t spoken with anyone else, after the show. The reporter she did get a word with had the conversation redacted.

The next Charlotte runway show was scheduled for two months from the Wa Couture showing. Again, Komurasaki was teased in various outfits. A video clip showed her and several models answering a few questions about the collection by an unseen host. It was clear each response was heavily scripted.

Koala plays her the video again, and pauses it at a certain point, gesturing towards their favored model. Reiju’s eyes narrow as she sees it.

Her cheeks are gaunt.

It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there, not something simple makeup could hide. Her outfit was wide, so it didn’t give her shape away. Her hands were always thin, so there was no tell there.

If they hadn’t paid such attention to her over the years, there would be no tell at all. She was hiding it good. No one else picked up on it. Komurasaki remained the part of a Charlotte model, mystic and mysterious.

With university fast approaching, there’s no way the girls can make time to see the next show in person. They opt to get together to watch a livestream, though. Koala had an exam the next morning, but she pushes the thought of it away. She deserves a break, she tells herself. She can spend a few hours watching the Sweets Shop Collection with her best friend.

The tone shift for this show is completely different than the last show. Every model is dressed overly-cutesy. Pastels are the prime focus. There’s at least one candy depiction on every outfit. No one falls to the floor this time.

Hiyori’s hair is her strength for this one. The outfits they pair her with match it perfectly. Linlin’s eldest daughter, Compote, joins her brother as a commentator. The spotlight hues, when they weren’t plain, are colored pink and orange. It’s hard to believe this much got done in only two months since the last show. 

The girls finish watching the stream with sparkles in their eyes. Amidst studying, this was just the break they needed to feel rejuvenated.

“Fashion Week Milan runs between semesters,” Reiju mentions, lying back on Koala’s side. The redhead only snorts, muting the laptop and leaning against the wall, her legs kicked over Reiju’s lap. 

“And you can speak Italian now? Ah! Don’t even try. I know you’re trilingual, but that ain’t one of them. We can watch it here, where there are subtitles.”

“Spoilsport,” Reiju mutters.

“Yeah, yeah.” She sits up. “Now move over, if you’re gonna stay. I need to study more.”

-

Reiju finishes with her last final and steps out from the building breathing into her hands. It was finally getting colder, which was unfortunate, since she had promised to pick up takeout before heading to Koala’s place. Sighing, she braces herself, preparing to endure the twenty-or-so minute walk. Next time she would dress better.

Koala has the television muted in the background when she walks in. The smell of food has her turning from her list, which was marked with all the brands and models they would be watching for Fashion Week Milan, and the following week, for Fashion Week Paris. It was two days before the former, so this was their official planning date.

“Hey, I saw something earlier,” Koala says, accepting the food and the chopsticks readily. Reiju settles back with her own meal and hums in acknowledgement. Koala taps at her laptop for a moment before spinning it towards her.

On it was a picture set of some notable Charlotte models. It appeared to be on an airplane, if the background was anything to note. Probably mid-travel to Milan. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at until she found the one picture without a made-up face. Or, any face at all, actually. The only tell of who it was under the wide-brimmed hat was teal hair bound in free-falling pigtails, and a slim, manicured hand sporting a peace sign. 

“They’re keeping her covered,” she notes.

“Strange, right?” Koala spins the screen back around. “Something feels off.”

“Maybe they made her get a face job,” Reiju deadpans. Koala gasps.

“Don’t say that!” Then, in a quieter voice, “What if it actually comes true?”

Reiju laughs, hard, for the first time in a good while. After a moment, Koala joins her. 

“How did your last exam go?” she finally asks, breaking the small quiet spell that had settled.

“Fine, I’m sure.” She waves her off. “What have you got so far?”

“Oh, right!” Koala sets aside her food in favor of her papers, and settles into a long-winded speal.

-

Fashion Week Milan is amazing, if only because Reiju has been camped out at her apartment since last Thursday. 

The Charlotte line is up next, Koala tells herself, curled together with Reiju on the couch. She was excited. They were both excited. It was hard to remember that they’re most anticipated brand was up next, when the current one was so good.

Scarlett Riku always produced amazing works, and this year was certainly no exception. Apparently, this year, their daughter was old enough to be in attendance. She was still young enough to be bouncing around when the camera panned to the famed designer, but it was written more as adorable than annoying. Also, this year, she’d apparently convinced her husband to be part of the lineup. Something about making a statement with prosthetics. If Koala was being honest, she was more focused on little Rebecca every time they asked for Scarlett’s comment, and the way Reiju would squeeze her arm when the camera panned to the little girl.

And then, finally, it was done, and the anticipation had their hearts pounding.

Charlotte shows were always a participation by the whole company. It differed from Fashion Week, where genders were divided into separate months, but it was different in Milan this year. As opposed to the show in Paris the following week, Milan’s show was mixed. This meant a lot of readjusting for other designers and brands. But the Charlotte line thrived.

And it showed.

Even with limited space, limited time, they brought their very best. Koala found herself sat up, lazily sketching parts of outfits she found too cute to resist. Reiju mumbles about the sudden lack of warmth, so she throws the blanket draped over the back of the couch to her, and readjusts her pencil again. She glances up, taken in by the big bow on the back of the returning model, of the sash slung over the one walking forward. She glances up again as they switch, then down again, scribbling in quick motions. Up, down. Up, down. Then Reiju gasps, her leg involuntarily jerking enough that it wobbles Koala, and she sharply looks up.

One of the models was on the ground. Like, completely, fallen off the runway and everything. Koala stares.

“What happened? I missed it,” she finally asks. Reiju slowly sits up, her eyes wide and her hands moving to cover her open mouth. People rush to the fallen model. She isn’t moving. Fainted, she hears a commentator say.

“She turned to go back and just. Fell,” Reiju tells her. She points to the screen. “Look.”

And she sees. Almost halfway across the runway, looking on in shock, was Komurasaki. Gone, was her perfect model form. Her shoulders shook. She looked like she might be crying. She watches as her fellow model is finally loaded onto a stretcher, and then someone rushes over to escort her off the stage.

The show is postponed. Understandably, but it still leaves the girls shocked and confused. It’s not until a few hours later that a small statement is issued about the fallen model, and when they read it, they read it again, and again, until they can finally take it in.

She was dead. Died of heart failure. The fall did her in, and when she hit the ground, it was the last jolt needed to end her life. It certainly wasn’t the cause, though, that couldn’t be the case. The statement didn’t say what was, though. It just said she was dead.

The Charlotte lineup goes from postponed to cancelled. 

“Our staff are a wreck,” is the official statement from Charlotte Linlin. “We’re currently investigating the underlying cause. Hopefully any problems that have arisen can be put to rest before Paris next week.”

Koala thinks, blandly, that the model who had died had been really thin. Her sash hung loosely, instead of embracing her figure, like the others had done. She tries to recall. Had any of the others looked like that? Too thin a waist compared to too big of hips? She can’t recall. She can’t. She just has her doodles, but that doesn’t help.

Fashion Week Milan quickly descends into a PR nightmare after that.

-

Charlotte Linlin and crew don’t show up for Fashion Week Paris, arguably the most famous one. It’s highly unusual. No comment is given.

Apparently, that doesn’t stop information from being leaked. 

Apparently, Charlotte Linlin and co are being _investigated_ for the murder of Speed, the alias of the young girl that died in Milan. She was nineteen. She was over forty pounds underweight. She was acting strange that night, according to the anonymous informant, but had been written off. And now she was dead.

Nine days after the end of Fashion Week Paris, the informant outs herself as Wanda Marshall, another Charlotte model. She promises to give a full report of treatment of external -and even some internal; Linlin employed some of her children as models, after all- employees by the Charlotte staff to a well-respected news outlet. She doesn’t look so great herself, though, and the next morning, it’s revealed she died in her residence the night before, in her sleep.

The public cries homicide. They cry for justice. Wanda’s friend Pedro prepares to press charges, telling the news outlet that she died the same way Speed had, because of anorexia. Maybe it wasn’t a direct stab to the heart to silence her, like the people wanted, but he claimed the Charlotte company were still responsible.

In an effort to distance herself from the conflict, Charlotte Linlin fires all employees that weren’t her children. A third of her staff is left jobless because of a heartless scandal -that does not exclude them from the responsibility they held for the two deaths.

Six days after Fashion Week Paris, Komurasaki is hospitalized. It takes her another six days to wake from her coma, to the news of her dead friend. With a heavy heart, she promises to take the reins and deliver the interview herself. What can they do, she states, when they’ve already fired her?

The interview takes place in her hospital room. One reporter and one cameraman are allowed. Kikunojo, Komurasaki’s agent, is in the corner of the room. Her mother, Toki, is also there.

“ _Komurasaki-san_ ,” the reporter begins. _“How are you feeling?”_

She holds up a hand. It’s very pale, and very thin, and shaking slightly. _“Please,”_ she murmurs. _“Komurasaki was a stage name chosen for me. Call me Hiyori.”_

_“Of course, Hiyori-san.”_

She nods her thanks, dropping her hand. _“How am I feeling? Hmm . .”_ She pauses for a long moment, thinking it over. Her eyes gloss. Her lip begins to tremble. Before it gets too far out of control, she speaks again. _“Distraught, I think. Wanda was a dear friend.”_

_“Hiyori-san, if you don’t mind me asking, there have been reports that external Charlotte models have been forced into extreme diet in order to meet weight restrictions. Could you confirm such?”_

Hiyori blinks, very slowly. She rolls her lip. Finally, she faces the camera. _“When I woke up, my mother asked what I had eaten last.”_ She pauses, glances to the reporter, who was holding the mic close enough to pick up. She nods for her to continue, and so she does. _“It wasn’t the first thing she said to me, but it was the first I remember having such an impact.”_ She breathes in, deep. _“I told her, well, I had a protein shake. I couldn’t remember . . I said two days ago, maybe? Two days from the day I was admitted, that is.”_ She huffs out a bitter laugh at her own poor-taste joke. _“And then, before that, another protein shake. I couldn’t remember when I had that one.”_

She frowns. _“Charlotte-sama said she liked my hair, my face. She never took my measurements. I assumed she didn’t need them. She didn’t, but I assumed for the wrong reasons.”_ Her lips quirk into a sad smile. _“The outfits I was to wear were crafted with my ideal body type in mind. If I couldn’t fit them, I had to make them fit. One of her daughters was my nutritionist, but instead of . . . instead of telling me how to eat right, she was telling me what to do to be able to fit into the outfits that I couldn’t.”_

Hiyori frowns again, sharply. She sighs, and leans her head back against the wall. The camera shifts to follow. The mic barely moves up.

 _“I feel like, from the moment I signed with them, the day I stepped out of the media spotlight for a whole year of training, I was giving my life away.”_ Her eyes fall to the camera proper. _“I’m ready to take my life back, now. I’m ready to tell my story.”_

-

There was one mistake Charlotte Linlin made, by firing her models before they could talk: By firing them, she was voiding their contracts, and also the clause that stated they couldn’t talk about internal company affairs. 

So when they started talking, there was nothing she could do to stop them.

Kozuki Hiyori casts aside her alias and lays her soul bare. She tells of her mistreatment, if not for herself, then for the two friends she had lost. She voices all her anger, but it’s stiff and tired, because she is in no shape to be giving this interview, but she’s doing it anyway.

Koala and Reiju huddle together and watch as Hiyori speaks of all the injustice that went into making the Charlotte brand so unbelievably successful it would be impossible to do, realistically, with proper and humane treatment of their employees. She recalls her first show with them, and how she had to be knocked to the floor for the story. That before that night began, her bruises from practice were covered with makeup. That she was punished when it rubbed off and bared the mark above her knee, and she failed to mention it to anyone. She tells of the impossible body standards, of ballerina-like figures with big breasts and cinched waists, no matter how unrealistic. Of how the fabric bunched into her curves, and if it didn’t look right, it was her that had to meld her body, instead of the clothing being adjusted. She speaks of the constant insults, the constant torment, the constant berating by people who were supposed to be on her side. Her in-house nutritionist telling her to stick to a liquid diet. Her makeup artist telling her to squint more, to train herself into it, that doe eyes weren’t sexy. Her ankles being whipped when she broke pose by her walk instructor. Her body being bared in ways she was highly uncomfortable with regardless of her reluctance or request otherwise. The anticipation that she lose weight, that she get breast implants, that she stop posting to social media, that she cut herself off from her friends, or anyone that wasn’t involved with the company. The list went on and on.

Charlotte Linlin may escape jail time in the end, but her reputation falls into shambles.

And then, at the end of it all, came the impossible question. Hiyori refused to give an answer, but a week later, after being released from the hospital, she posts a statement on her Twitter.

_I’m taking a break from modeling. I’m going to find myself again. I’m going to remember why I chose this career, and when I find that reason, I will be back with a vengeance._

-

Reiju is at Koala’s place more than she is her own. Their bookshelf is a mixture of fashion magazines stacked and piled and stacked again, and the occasional university textbook used to hold them up, or separate them by title.

They’re flipping through a _Fruits_ volume, their latest hobby since it began it’s re-release earlier that semester. The fashion world has been quiet. Normal, or, on the grounds to being normal once more. After the disaster with the now-disbanded Charlotte brand, things were hectic. It was nice, for things to be quiet. _Fruits_ was a nice escape from it all. It was freelance photography, and ordinary street fashion. The models weren’t models at all -they were everyday people perusing the streets of Tokyo.

Reiju ended up in a copy, after a request for a picture. She ran home that night after being told what was being done with the picture, and Koala ordered a subscription to the magazine that same night.

Her fingers pause halfway through flipping the page. It falls to the other side by gravity, her grip going limp as she stares down at the page, transfixed. Koala blinks, maybe a little more tired that she should be, and hums in question. She was across the table -they’d been taking turns passing the magazine back and forth- so her view was upside-down. In response, Reiju beckons her to her side. Too lazy to get up, Koala bends down and crawls under the table. She resurfaces in Reiju’s arms, and turns over to see the page, halting a yawn with one hand. She shivers as her eyes readjust, and Reiju grabs the remote on the edge of the table. The space heater in the corner of the room croaks to life.

Koala shivers again, but it’s not because of the cold. “Kozuki-san,” she mutters.

“That’s what I thought, too,” Reiju murmurs. She leans over Koala’s shoulder, gazing down at the duo depicted. One was a shorter boy, his black hair thrust into a high ponytail that spikes out. His clothing is more punk than his reserved expression would suggest. Behind him, almost a whole foot taller, is Hiyori. She’s dressed more simply, but still something striking enough to catch the photographer’s eye. She’s tucking her hair behind her ear for the camera. Her expression is more playful, like she’d just gotten done teasing the boy with her.

Near the bottom, in near-unlegible script, their names are printed. Kozuki Momonosuke and Hiyori.

“I didn’t know she had a brother,” Koala says right by her ear.

“Must be younger than us,” she says back. “Looks like it.”

“Does this mean she’s finally back?”

“ _Fruits_ is unaffiliated with anything. I doubt it. She does look better, though.”

The next month, an online post about Hiyori appearing in a _Puchipura_ issue gains traction. Koala and Reiju buy a copy just to see, and it turns out to be true. Two whole spreads feature her, and there’s a small blurb at the bottom.

_Q: Does this mean you’re back?_

_A: Not exactly. I’m in more of a freelance era, right now. I really wanted to appear here, though._

_Q: And why is that? Not that we aren’t honored to have you!_

_A: Thank you! I’ll keep it brief, I promise. There was once a time, way back, when my family had next to nothing. I want young girls, or those also in impoverished situations, to know that they can keep pushing forward. Even with just a little money, you can be cute._ Puchipura _helped me a lot, back then. This is my giving back._

She appears in a _JJ_ volume next. Nothing too fancy, just casual, comfortable fashion. Oversized cardigans, printed leggings, long woolen socks. Her hair is teased until it becomes almost unruly, but it matches the looks she sports to a T. Gone are the seductive expressions of her Charlotte days, or the overly-peppy ones of her Criminal days. She looks relaxed, happy. She’s twenty-five and she’s beginning to enjoy life again.

-

Koala nearly spits out her drink when she glances to the television one morning. “Reiju!” she calls, sharp and loud, and the other comes tumbling into the room, her hair still damp and unruly. Before she can say anything, Koala points to the screen and then grabs for a towel, dabbing off her shirt with a groan. Maybe she did spit a little.

Reiju watches as Hiyori-san shows off a candy in one hand, saying a catchphrase. She ends saying _“HA!”_ and then strikes a pose, and the commercial ends, showing the candy name. Koala drops the towel and picks up the remote to rewind, starting the commercial from the beginning.

Reiju had missed the shamisen playing in the beginning, the focus on the instrument, and the background filled with the midsection of a girl in a colorful furisode. The teal hair piling atop the instrument is a giveaway as to who the mystery person is.

The camera pans up sharply to Hiyori’s face, and she looks calmly for a moment before switching to a confident smile. The scene switches to her with the candy, and at that point she turns to face Koala, whose face is lit with glee.

“I think,” she says. “It’s safe to say she’s back.”

Reiju is inclined to agree.

-

Kozuki Hiyori, at age twenty-five, to the impossible standards of the industry, begins to mold herself into an idol.

 _“I can’t sing,”_ she tells one reporter, laughing a little. _“I can’t dance, either. But! I’m learning. I’m actually part of a project, but it’s secret.”_ She holds a finger to her lips, looking into the camera. _“You’ll see soon enough.”_

She’s met with overwhelmingly positive results, but the ratio is still mixed. She’s too old, some say. She’s too well-known, others say, up-and-coming idols are always fresh faces. Hasn’t she gone through enough, still others say, knowing full well what the idol industry was like.

Kozuki Hiyori finds herself, and she marches back into the entertainment industry with her head held high. 

She opens a Youtube channel, and against all odds, she’s surprisingly okay at recording, to start. She quickly gets better, and her channel grows, and it becomes her second-main source of content, behind her Instagram.

_“Okay.” The camera shakes lightly. “Okay, I think we’re good.” Hiyori walks into the frame, her hair down. “So. First video, and I wanna announce something. I’ve joined up with the Newgate Talent Agency. Which means I’m working with Kiku-kun again!” She squees, shaking her fists. “They’ve matched me with a series, with a comedy. It’s been going really well, filming and all. My co-star is great. The trailer drops tomorrow, so I hope you’ll all watch! I can’t wait to start sharing more content here!”_

Koala jerks Reiju awake when the trailer drops early in the morning, too early for the sun to be up, and they watch it over and over, until their eyes stop being blurry and they can appreciate all the visuals properly.

“A comedy with Ace Portgas,” Reiju mumbles. “Fine, we’ll give it a shot. We don’t have a TV for nothing.”

Hiyori appears again in a sequel commercial for the same candy as the first, this time in a different color. She strums the shamisen again, and this time her furisode is in deep colors. The camera pans up, and she’s already smiling, so it turns into a grin. The significance is not lost on the two girls watching. The first had been her return, her announcement. The second was her declaration, _I’m back, look at me, watch me!_

The first episode of her comedy series is a delight. It’s surprisingly well-written, and Hiyori’s facial expressions are perfection. To everyone’s satisfaction, she turns out to be a great actress. 

She posts a picture of her and Ace to her Instagram just after the episode finishes airing, promising to see everyone again in episode two. But she sees them well before that, uploading a video to her Youtube the next day. It starts with her strumming the shamisen, and playing a little more than that, and then admitting she had been practicing on it for years now. It’s around ten full minutes of content, of her playing little bits, some slow and some incredibly fast. Of attempting to sing, and croaking, and then apologizing for subjecting everyone to that. 

She starts posting little makeup tips and tutorials. Her Instagram is filled with on-set photos and candids. She features her co-star, Ace, and another actress on the show, Dadan, more prominently. One of them appreciates the attention a lot more than the other. 

One of the episodes features her using a sword, and she takes to Twitter that same night, claiming that, no, she did not use a stunt double, it was really her swinging that around. The next day she throws together an impromptu video of several weeks of sword training.

_“I actually started when I was super little,” she admits. “My brother, too, but-” She cups her hands over her mouth, leaning in closer to the camera to whisper. “I’m the better one.” In the background, a voice begins to say, “SHUT-” and Hiyori’s face breaks into a wide smile. The scene switches before she can laugh._

_“I’m so out of practice, though! Which is why I have Thatch here-” She pans the camera upwards and a tall man waves at the camera. “-teaching me. I would be lost without him. Like, it’s literally been_ fifteen years _, can you believe that?”_

 _The screen pans again to a new shot. “Yes, I was sword fighting while I was modeling for_ Nicola. _I was also trying to play the shamisen, but I wasn’t good at it back then.”_

An Instagram post of her bandaged leg gains a bit of traction. ‘i CAn’t dance!!!’ is the caption. 

A similar one is posted to Ace Portgas’ account as well, one of him with a bruised foot. ‘This time the injury isn’t my fault, Sabo!’ is the caption. Underneath, a sub-caption reads ‘yes, she is okay’.

The two posts attract so much popularity that Hiyori uploads a small montage of dance practicing to Youtube. It features a lot of tripping, over-balancing, squawking by one blonde-and-dead-tired dance instructor, laughing and teasing by a short, red-haired assistant dance instructor, prominently named ‘Sweet Sweet Devil Child’ by the in-video captions, and a lot of deadpanned looks directly into the camera. Perhaps not always the camera Hiyori was filming with, but a camera nonetheless.

 _That_ gains such much popularity that the producers of the series write the dance teaching into the script. Ace’s character teaches Hiyori’s slowly but surely over the course of the season, and at that point, the comedy just writes itself.

‘some of it is improv, yes’, she admits on Twitter. ‘most of it is just script, though. it just comes so naturally. we really have great chemistry’.

Golden Week comes, and Reiju and Koala get a well-deserved break from the semester. They take a day trip to Nikko, packing into a train car in the early hours of the morning, beating out just a little of the crowd, and arrive at the shrine by midday.

They’re passing by the river, about to cross the Shinkyo bridge, when a voice catches Koala’s attention. She gasps, just a little, and her grip on Reiju’s hand tightens. She turns back to see what the commotion was, and her gaze wanders over Koala’s shoulders, where a woman stood talking amicably to a young photographer. 

“Is that Hiyori-san?” she questions.

Koala spins around slightly, turning Reiju with her, and the two watch as Hiyori laughs into the long sleeve of her kimono, lifting it from where it nearly rested on the ground. The motion catches the idol’s attention, and she turns her head to gaze at them as well. After a moment, she breaks into a smile, and waves, before turning back to the photographer.

Koala lets out a breathy noise, and then her face is bright red. Reiju resists the need to snort. The photographer catches on as well, turning his head back to catch sight of them. “Hey!” he shouts, and the girls stiffen. 

“Sorry!” Reiju calls. “We’ll leave-”

“No, no!” The man hurries over. “I didn’t mean to scare you, please don’t run away!”

Koala and Reiju share a glance. The man stops a few feet from them, panting slightly from his jog. 

“I’m a photographer for _Fruits_ ,” he explains. “The street fashion magazine?”

They both blink. “We know of it, yes,” Reiju voices.

“This isn’t a street, though,” Koala follows, gesturing around them with the hand that isn’t holding Reiju’s. The man laughs.

“Yes, I know. But it’s Golden Week! _Fruits_ is aiming for something different -capture all the modified traditional wear as possible over the next ten days.” He flashes them a smile. “What do you say? Can I take your picture?”

Koala’s mouth falls open. Reiju reaches over to close it, speaking for them. “Sure,” she says easily. 

“Great! Thank you! If you’ll follow me.”

And then, to their shock, he begins marching straight over to Hiyori. Kozuki Hiyori.

Koala lets out a mess of stammerings. Her face colors again. Reiju releases a quiet sigh, grips her hand a little tighter, and pulls them both forward. They come to a stop a reasonable distance away from the idol.

“Sorry about that wait, Kozuki-san,” the photographer says. “Girls, I’ll get you after, okay?”

Before they can reply, Hiyori beats them to it. “Why don’t we take one together?”

Reiju’s open mouth clamps shut, and she winces as her teeth clash; Koala’s stays opened, and her eyes widen, too.

“Hm.” The photographer spins a little to face them, then back to Hiyori. “That might could work,” he mutters. “But there’s really no need-”

“Then let them go first,” Hiyori says, still smiling. “So they can return to their walk. I’ve already come and gone, so there’s no need for me to rush.”

“W-We can’t do that!” Koala stammers. “You should go first!”

Hiyori tips her head. “Why? Am I special or something? I thought this was street photography -documenting the unknown.”

Koala clamps her jaw shut. Reiju sighs, and then her own easy smile forms on her lips. “If we can’t agree on the order, then we should take one together.”

“Perfect!” Hiyori says, clapping her hands together. “Is that okay, Itsuki-san?”

“If it works for you, then it’s fine with me!” He raises his camera. “Will you all stand in a line for me?”

They work themselves in order, Koala and Reiju shuffling to Hiyori’s side. Itsuki switches it up, though, and places Hiyori in the middle of them. Her head is perfectly between theirs, bridging their height difference nicely. After a moment, she pulls their hands to interlock in front of her, and then rests her own hands onto their shoulders. “Is this okay, Itsuki-san?”

“It looks perfect, Kozuki-san,” he says, looking through the lens. He takes a couple snaps, looks down, then nods at them. “Alright, you’re good to go! Thank you all for participating. Kozuki-san, I’ll make sure this picture makes its way to your agency.” He waves them off, bids them another farewell, and then heads deeper into the park. 

At that point, Koala and Reiju have separated from Hiyori. Once she’s waved Itsuki off, she turns back to face them.

“If you’ll allow me, I can send the picture to you both as well, when I receive it.” She winks. “Being an idol has its perks and all, but it wasn’t my picture alone. Such a shame they never share their photography with their models, hm?”

Koala nearly blows a fuse, leaning her head back and covering her red face with her hands. “W-We’d be honored!” she says, and if her voice is a little too loud, Hiyori doesn’t comment.

“Great! Unfortunately I can’t give out my phone number, but can I have an email address?” She pulls out her phone and Reiju recites hers off, all the while trying to quietly calm Koala down. Hiyori nods and slips the phone back into the folds of her kimono when she’s done. “Okay. I’ll make sure to send it as soon as I get hold of it.”

“Thank you,” Reiju says, and Koala quietly echoes her, looking down at the ground. Her hand is back in Reiju’s, and she squeezes slightly, still nervous.

“It’s my pleasure,” Hiyori tells them. “Are you students, by chance?” she asks, and both girls look up at this.

“Um, yes,” Reiju says. 

“I thought that might be the case.” Slowly, Hiyori reaches up her sleeve and pulls out a couple omamori. “I collected a few of these, so I’ll share some with you.” She winks as she passes them off to Reiju, who hands one to Koala. The patterned red fabric seems to wink at them, as well. “Good luck in your studies! From me to you.”

“Y-You too!” Koala says, gripping the education charm tight. “With your dancing!”

Hiyori blinks, stunned for a moment. Then she dips a head and laughs into her hand. “Thank you! That is what the third one is for, unfortunately.” She looks up again, and her eyes are glimmering. “One more thing.”

When she reaches into her sleeve this time, she pulls out a bright pink charm. “You can use this more than me,” she says, passing the omamori to Reiju. She takes it slowly, then pulls it toward her, caressing the fabric. Koala’s eyes widen as she leans over to look at it, the implications not lost.

“Well, that’s all I have.” She offers them a little wave. “Goodbye! Enjoy your time at the shrine!”

The girls are left stunned for a moment. Reiju is the one that snaps them out of it, pocketing her two omamori. “I guess we don’t need to go to the shrine anymore,” she teases.

“What? No!” Koala points. “I still want to cross the Shinkyo! Plus, if we pray at the shrine now, we’ll get double luck!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Have you ever tried it before?”

Reiju sighs. “Point taken.” She grabs for Koala’s hand, tugging her towards the bridge. “Okay, let’s go.”

-

The season finale of Kozuki Hiyori’s drama airs the last day of Golden Week. That same night, Reiju’s email pings, and she opens it to find the photo of her, Koala, and the idol near the bridge. She closes it, bringing her attention back to the show once more, an easy smile worked onto her face.

As soon as the finale ends, Koala has her Twitter feed open. There, at the top, is a tweet from Hiyori herself, confirming ‘of COURSE there will be a season 2!!!’ for the both of them to see. 

“I still can’t believe I met my idol,” Koala says.

“Literally an idol, now,” Reiju follows, leaning closer. Her necklace jingles around her neck, the ring attached coming to a stop at the hollow of her throat. “Try saying ‘favorite’.”

“Fine. I can’t believe I met my _favorite_ idol over Golden Week, the same one I’ve been obsessed over since I was a little kid.” She turns to face Reiju, and her own necklace jingles.

“I can’t believe she gave us a love charm.”

“No!” Koala hits her in the chest, but it’s without force. “You’re supposed to say ‘me too!’ Say it!” She puffs her cheeks as Reiju’s cheeky grin widens. “Say it!”

“Yeah,” Reiju says, smiling. “Me too.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr !](http://cheswirls.tumblr.com/wrcommissions)  
> [here's the zine link!!](http://sharetheworldzine.tumblr.com) pls go check out everyones amazing work.
> 
> my hand still isnt better this was jus pre-written. ill update the main page when i can write properly again.


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